Cost of power generation surges 131pc in May

KARACHI: The cost of power generation surged 131 percent in May driven by higher prices of coal, RLNG, and furnace oil (FO), over the same month last year, latest numbers showed on Monday.

The high cost of electricity generation in May led Central Power Purchasing Authority-Guaranteed (CPPG-A) to seek Rs8 unit increase in the power bills on account fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for May, on which National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) will hold public hearing on June 27, 2022.

According to the power generation cost data, electricity generation cost in the country jumped 131 percent, hitting Rs13.15kWh in May 2022 compared to Rs5.7 kWh in May last year. During the month of May, the cost of electricity generation from FO, RLNG, and coal prices went up by 135 percent, 178 percent, and 130 percent respectively.

On the other hand, the cost of power generation also trended upwards in the first eleven months of the current fiscal when it was up by 85 percent against the same months of last year.

In the months under review, the power cost from FO jumped by 76.5 percent, RLNG 114 percent and coal 82 percent. The power generation data showed that it went up by 12.7 percent YoY to 14,657 GWh (19,700 MW) during May 2022, compared to 13,010 GWh (17,486 MW) during May 2021.

During July-May of FY22, power generation also increased by 11.6 percent YoY to 129,317 GWh (16,084 MW) compared with 115,862 GWh (14,411 MW) during the corresponding months of last year.

Data on generation mix revealed that electricity generation from coal declined 23 percent YoY to 2,018 GWh. Power generation from FO, nuclear increased 67 percent, 49 percent, and 93 percent, respectively.

Power generation increased and accounted for 13 percent of the entire energy mix in May 2022, as compared to just 10 percent in the same month in 2021.

In May, hydel was the leading source of power generation, accounting for 24 percent of the generation mix with 3,591 GWh generated in May 2022, as compared to 3,465 GWh generated in the same month last year, an increase of 4 percent.

Power generation from RLNG improved 19 percent to 3,355 GWh in May 2022, as compared to 2,829 GWh generated in May 2021, while accounting for 23 percent of the energy mix. Power generation from coal accounted for 14 percent of generation.